Coffee May Help Decrease Risk Of Early Death From Colorectal Cancer, Study Shows

According to a study done at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, "people with colorectal cancer (CRC) who drank at least four cups of coffee per day after their diagnosis had a significantly lower risk of early death – from either their cancer or any cause – than those who didn't drink coffee." CRC is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society. There has be prior evidence suggesting that coffee could help lower the risk of mortality and also other chronic diseases, and this may be due to its ability to fight inflammation and insulin resistance and because it contains anti-carcinogenic compounds.  

In this study, researchers looked at nearly eight years of data from 1,600 individuals diagnosed with colorectal cancer who were enrolled in two long-running studies. Researchers found that, in comparison with those who didn't drink coffee, the participants who drank at least four cups per day were 52 percent less likely to die from CRC and 30 percent less likely to die from any cause during the study period. Those who drank at least two cups per day prior to CRC diagnosis and maintained this level of consumption were associated with a 37 percent reduction in CRC-specific mortality and a 29 percent reduction in all-cause mortality when compared with those who did not drink coffee or who drank less than two cups before and after CRC diagnosis.